The military is launching a new research effort at the University of Illinois to improve the security of battlefield computers and communications systems against enemy hackers.

Officials at the school's National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) have received an initial $5.7 million grant from the Office of Naval Research to establish a research center. Software developers will try to determine the best way to share information among military forces without fear of interception.

The government also is seeking a framework for determining quickly when and how a computer network is under attack, Reed said.

The same kind of sensors could be used to monitor the integrity of bridges or the movement of traffic, making the research applicable for non-military use, NCSA director Dan Reed told The Associated Press.

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